Novel Optical Absorbers for Energy Efficient Solar Control Glazing

This project will contribute to the development of new designs of energy efficient glazing products, which reduce heat loss in cold climates and air conditioning costs in warmer climates, thus contributing to the drive to reduce energy consumption. It has been estimated that 36% of total EU emissions are associated with buildings and it has been estimated that up to 37% of energy consumption in EU building stock can be saved by 2050 by using high-performance glazing.   

Pilkington is part of the NSG group that manufactures glass and glazing for architectural, automotive, solar and technical applications in over 100 countries. Insulating low emissivity windows are a well proven solution to glazing heat loss, as are solar-control coatings for minimising heat gain. However, it is a competitive market with constantly improving standards driven by environmental, legal and competitive forces. Innovation has led to greatly increased insulation performance and light-to-solar gain respectively.   

The majority of high-performance coating solutions are based around thin silver coating layers that impart low-emissivity and heat reflective properties.  However, the ultimate thermal and optical performance of these products is still evolving as better coating systems are researched and implemented. This forms the basis of this project, in which we aim to identify improved dielectric materials to aid thermal and aesthetic design choices for solar control.

The successful applicant will be expected to start in April 2022 and will become a part of Manchester Met's Advanced Materials and Surface Engineering Research Centre.